Searching For What He Left Behind
by Phoenixica24
Summary: Edited to become a full multi-chaptered fic. Jack/OC. Will include retelling of the movies later. I do not own PotC in any way, shape or form.
1. Chapter 1: Runaway

Young Jack Sparrow:

In the 1700s, in the Caribbean. Tortuga. A messy place, really. Lots of fights. But that's where he was born.

Jack was born pirate, through and through. But in some ways, he hated piracy.

From his very earliest days, all he could remember was torture. All his family beat him, almost hated him, mainly because he was an only child, and so different.

He was the son of one of the Pirate Lords, Teague Sparrow, who, when Jack was about eight years old, became Keeper of the Code.

Jack himself sometimes thought he wasn't really a part of that family, wasn't really related to them. He was considering running away, finding his true family, or at least his way of life. It was one terrible night that drove him over the edge.

It was his twelfth birthday, actually, though no one but him knew it. Everyone was drunk, as usual. The beatings were worse. Teague told him to go get more rum, but Jack had had enough. He said, "No." Everyone stopped and stared. "You'll do what you're told, boy, and gladly!" Teague yelled drunkenly. Jack ran. He gathered his few possessions, and some coins, in a sack, and left. He made his way to the docks, and slipped onto the unguarded deck of a promising ship.

The next morning, he snuck up on deck and watched the sun rise. To him, it seemed a better dawn than any other, the dawn of a new life. A life of freedom. The dawn of his new life of freedom. No more drunk maybe-his-relatives,no more beatings, nothing but the sea he loved. Standing on the deck of an unknown ship, he had an image of himself, a Pirate Lord, a captain of a beautiful, well-armed, swift ship. He was, at last, free!


	2. Chapter 2: Abandoned

Abandoned:

Birds chirped happily as the young girl raced through the tropical forest. Her feet carried her automatically along the familiar secret path to their place. The events of the morning were still ringing in her ears.

Yesterday had been her best friend's twelfth birthday. She knew he had family problems-so did she, so did every pirate child in the Caribbean. But she never thought he would do this to her!

_"Teague! Teague! Cap'n Teague! Someone fetch him, quick! His boy's gone!" _

_ She stumbled out the door, rubbing her eyes. The city-if it could be called that-was in complete and utter turmoil. The Keeper of the Code's son was missing!_

_ "Jack?" she called. Teague's first mate turned._

_ "Yes, li'l one. He's gone. Run off last night, it seems. We're searching the city area-think you can handle the rest of the island?"_

_ "Of course." she replied. But she already knew in her heart there was no use. He was gone. Without her._

Now she fled from the horrible, horrible truth. Bloody stinking pirates! Never with a thought in the world to how she would feel, how this would impact her and her life! Never!

She reached the cliff and stood there for a moment, hair whipped back by the wind, arms outspread as if she could fly. She stood poised on the very edge, as if she were about to jump. And suddenly, she realized.

Jack Sparrow had been the only thing keeping her here. She was an orphan, mother vanished, father dead drunk somewhere. Jack had been her constant friend for as long as she could remember. Now he was gone.

She leaned forward, feeling the temptingness of the wind...And she jumped.


	3. Chapter 3: A New Horizon

**I do not own PotC in any way, shape, or form.**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta Dest for a great job!  
**

A New Horizon:

Jack opened his eyes and quickly scrambled for cover. He needed somewhere better if he intended to stay a stowaway. Too late. A deep voice drawled from the shadows. "Who are ye and what are ye doin' here?"

Jack scanned the deck around him. _There!_ A darker shadow amongst the other shadows. "What makes it any of yer business?" he asked, trying to pitch his voice as low as possible.

"A stowaway ye are. A stowaway ye may be later. Soon, a dead stowaway perchance. Yet a young stowaway headed out to open sea, per'aps fer the first time, laddie."

"What are ye meaning by that?" Jack asked, curious.

"Say, let me introduce ye as my nephew to de Captain and have him set you as ship's boy, hmmm? No hanging fer ye there, aye?"

That was true.

"Aye. So where might the captain be at this lovely time of day?" Jack asked. "And what might your name be?"

"Call me Larrie. And Captain Murg is prob'ly in his quarters." As 'Larrie' stood, Jack realized that he had one arm and a bum leg. He had a very strange way of getting up. Jack almost turned to Kaila to exchange smirks at all the pranks they could play-and get away with!-on this guy, when he realized the horrible, awful truth-he'd left her behind.

As far back as he could remember, Kaila had always been there to get him out of a scrape-never in any sort of expected way. She'd saved his life countless times, and they were only twelve! She followed along with any crazy plan he cared to come up with, and always tried her hardest. She was funny, bright, happy, full of life, and extremely intelligent, despite her stubborn belief in magic.

She did have an imagination. She could be a drama queen, but then, so was Jack. They rarely fought.

Now he was alone. Out in the real world, completely alone. His lack of skill with any sort of weapon was due to her uncanny skill at fighting, strategy, and such. Thinking back, he had no particular skill. Kaila was the talented one. So why was he here?

Making up his mind, Jack followed Larrie. _It's about time we both grew up._

**Please review! Any ideas are welcome!**_  
_


	4. Chapter 4: Realization

**A/N: If anyone's out there, I'm desperate for reviews here, I'm stuck in a slump and can't get out. I need to improve and don't know how-any review, criticism accepted, no, encouraged!, would make my day and further/better my writing. Thank you.  
**

**Thank you to my beta Azzie(Inkfire) for going over this one for me! :D  
**

Realization:

Falling...seemed like it took an eternity. More than once, Kaila wondered if she would ever hit the waves that still seemed so far below her. The pain she was feeling tore her apart. Sure, Jack had been her close, one and only friend, but surely she should have known? Known that he wanted out, that he would leave?

_I always thought we'd go together. We were always together. Why not now?_ She twisted elegantly in the air, staring out at the horizon. The beautiful horizon. The dawn of her new life.

Energy surged through her, and in her moment of strongest belief, using her willpower, she spread glorious flame-colored wings out of nowhere and glided out across the sea.

Kaila looked down at the ocean still so far below her and shrieked. _I'M FLYING!_ Laughing, she twisted over in the air and looped back towards the island.

"I don't need you now, Jack! I always told you magic existed! Well, what was that, then? Huh? I'm going to go out and make a name for myself! You'll hear of me in years and wish you'd never left me behind, but it'll be too late! I'll _never_ forgive you! You'll regret this!" she cried out at the sunrise, her long red hair flying back in the breeze.

That said, she stalked off into the woods to pack her bags. She decided she was leaving too.

A month later, she was standing on the deck of her very own ship. Ordering her crew to bring her about to face a nearby merchant ship. Her terms were more than fair. But to those who resisted...she literally burned them alive.

As years went by, she gained a name not only for herself, Phoenix of the Seas, but for her ship-_Phoenix's Melody. _Though it wasn't a frightening name, it struck fear into the hearts of pirates everywhere. She did not tolerate cruel, disgusting, or unjust behavior, despite her being a pirate. Those convicted were known to reform quickly...or worse.


	5. Chapter 5: Homesick

**A/N: Found this buried in my saved files! Dedicated to Azzie(Inkfire) for beta'ing this for me!  
**

Searching for What He Left Behind:

Chapter Five: Homesick:

Larrie led Jack along till they came to a plain, but nice-looking wooden door towards the back of the ship. He knocked briskly and as they waited for an acknowledgment of sorts, Jack became nervous and started to regret his hasty decision. _Oh, Kaila, where are you now?_

"Enter!" A deep voice called from inside. Jack felt rather like he was about to be sick as Larrie gripped his shoulder and pushed him inside.

Jack stumbled slightly, as the ship rocked to and fro, and his stomach twisted angrily. He straightened swiftly and looked around, desperately trying to calm his insides.

The cabin was modestly elegant. Simple furniture, few decorations. It was slightly larger than anyplace else in the ship that Jack had seen so far, other than storage spaces and possibly the galley. It may have been larger, but that was merely to accommodate the extra necessary equipment that a captain required.

"And who is this?" asked a tall, lean, muscular man as he lounged against the windows on the far wall.

"My nephew, Jack. He's orphaned, with no one else to take him in. Found him late last night, all alone out in the streets. I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't leave my sister's only child out in the streets. She saved my life more times than I can count."

"Can he work? Has he sailed before?" the captain asked.

Jack coughed softly. "No, but I am willing to learn and work hard to prove myself."

"Very well. We'll try him out as ship's boy. You will look after him, Mr. Larrie, or else there'll be a price to pay!"

"Very good, sir." Larrie led Jack out of the captain's office. Jack followed his new mentor through the ship until they came to a large space with hammocks everywhere. Larrie led him between them until he finally sat in one with a moan.

"Hammocks are over there, hang yers near this one, as it's mine, and I have to watch after ye." he ordered, not unkindly.

"What do ye know of sailing?"

Jack listed various parts of different kinds of ships and what they did, how to perform various maneuvers out in the open sea and close to land, and how to navigate.

"Sounds like ye've been sailing before." Larrie said suspiciously.

"Never in my life." Jack replied. "My father did, and some kids and I often took little boats around by the shore. Once, this girl and I drifted out to sea, but we managed to get back quick enough."

Carefully leaving out any mention of him being close friends with any girl.

"Hmmph. Well, have ye ever handled a sword before? Any sort of weapon?"

"Cutlass, rapier, pistol..." Jack trailed off, not sure what to call Kaila's weapon. He also decided not to mention the bow and arrow.

"How good are ye?"

"Fairly. I can best half a tavern with a cutlass and hit a target this big," he held up his fingers curled to make a gap about half an inch across, "from about...say, the length of this ship."

Larrie whistled. "That's some talent right there, boy! Moving?"

"Sadly, no. Haven't had a chance to try that yet." He had, but not enough that he could brag about. He'd been too scared of hitting Kaila as she ran through the trees with his target. Jack lapsed into a silence that led Larrie to think he missed home.

The old sailor patted the boy on the shoulder. "Rest here bit, laddie. I'll introduce ye to the crew later." He said kindly. Jack nodded, fetching a hammock and setting it up. Within minutes, he was sound asleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Rumors

**A/N: Thanks to my beta Azzie(Inkfire) for going over this one! :D If any readers are interested in taking over, please PM me!  
**

Searching for What He Left Behind:

Chapter Six: Rumors:

Kaila stepped off her ship onto the dock, inhaling deeply the sweet scent of the sea before it was swept away by the stench of alcohol and unwashed bodies.

"We set sail tomorrow with the dawn's tide! Not aboard, not coming!" she called over her shoulder. Her crew knew that, and knew what they needed to do. Kaila herself set out for her quiet cliff by the beach.

As she passed through the crowds, trying hard not to inhale, she overheard snatches of conversation.

"Yes, _the_ Jack Sparrow lost his ship to that upstart first mate!"

"Right, I heard..."

"...Here..."

Kaila ran straight to her cliff, but found someone already there. _Jack..._

Since they were twelve, she'd spent her life chasing him! All those times...going undercover in Port Royal for years waiting for him to show up, then sneaking after him back here, to Tortuga, and hearing he was setting out for Isla de Muerta, saving his life without being noticed many times while there...and the whole deal with the Kraken, she swore she should have just shot him then. But she couldn't.

_Soaring above the Black Pearl, high enough for them to think her a bird, but low enough for her to see, Kaila wished she'd stayed at home. Because her best friend loved someone else. And now, now she recognized the pain in her heart. The jealousy, the longing to switch places with that girl, to be in Jack's arms, to be kissing him...she loved him. She always had._

Shaking those memories out of her head, she glared at the man standing and staring out at the sea.

_What do I do now? Confront him? Leave? Hide-no, I won't hide. This is my place now!_

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the open.

"You have some nerve, coming back here." _The place where I jumped...after you abandoned me!_

He didn't reply. Just stood there. Kaila huffed, and shoved past him.

Jack stood frozen. He heard her voice, saw her walk away, but he couldn't believe it was really her. It had been too long...

"Kaila?" He called out to the empty air. "Kaila!"

Running back towards Tortuga, he chased her, because he never should have left her, only to stop dead and stare once he reached the beach.


	7. Chapter 7: Changes

**A/N: Thanks to my beloved beta Azzie for looking this over for me! **

Chapter Seven: Changes:

Kaila stood frozen on the beach, trying desperately to hide the pain in her heart from the man who had caused it all, all those years ago. The tail of her dressy overcoat flowed around her long legs, swept from side to side by the breeze. The heels of her knee-high boots sank into the sand, and she shifted her weight to avoid falling over backwards. She hadn't heard him chase after her for some time, so his gentle voice behind her made the captain jump.

"Why are you here?" she snarled savagely.

"Looking for a crew. Can't we talk without you ripping my head of?" he asked warily. He sounded as tired as she felt. Tired of searching, of chasing one another around the world. "Is it true you're the one they call Phoenix?"

"So what if it is? Did you think I'd stay in that mess of a city without you?" She tossed her hair, letting it fall about her shoulders in waves of fire. Jack immediately understood where the nickname came from. Her hair looked like wildly beautiful flames, and she had grown into the most beautiful pirate lass on the seven seas, with a long, slender body and lightly tanned, smooth skin. He hesitantly stepped closer, sliding his arms around her tiny waist and pulling her back against his chest.

"No." he whispered in her ear, expecting her to react the way she always had, and looking forward to the mock struggle in a way he never had before.

But she didn't react the way he expected. She pulled a hidden dagger out of her waistband and slashed at his exposed face and throat, effectively forcing him to let go and step back. Within moments, she was gone.

"Kaila!" he yelled after her, scared and shaken. "Kaila, please, come back! I never wanted to leave you like that! Just let me explain—" He broke off suddenly, realizing the horrible truth in his heart, hidden behind his words. "I've spent all these years looking for you—I've spent too long searching to let you go now!"


End file.
